I replaced my radius rod bushings and took my car to get an alignment and found that my caster is off. On the left from it is 1.1* and on the right front it is -.5*. According to the shop it should be between 2-4*.

1. Anyone know how i can fix this?

2. How much does the wheel actually move to go from -.5* to 1*? The reason i am asking this is because the only solution i can come up with is to machine the radius rod so that it will draw the wheel closer to the nose.

 

You can get a Camber/Caster kit for the front and change it that way. If you get the Ingall upper control arm mounts that are eccentrics then you can do camber and caster. Or get the cheaper/crapper adjustable ball joints and those work too.

Or be baller and get a traction bar that has the adjustable heim joints on the radius rods.

I have the adjustable ball joints, they work ok, but no the best. They will solve your problem though and are the cheapest I think.

 

are you referring to this kit?

http://images.search.yahoo.com/image...sigb=137v628da

i didn't think that adjusted caster. i thought it could only do camber.

 

How about a bad upper ball joint? could it cause the caster to go out?

 

Yes that's the kit I'm referring to. If you get the mounts for both the forward and rearward mount then you can adjust caster with them as well. It's a little tricky as you'd be adjusting camber at the same time, but with some time you can get em both right.

The way they work is they're eccentric and you can turn the inner part of the mounts in the same direction to move your upper control arm in or out to adjust camber. That's their main purpose, but if you move either the front or rear one by it self or both of them in opposite directions this will move the ball joint forward or backward which is your caster adjustment. These kits are really strong and easy to adjust and you can install them yourself then roll down to the alignment shop and get her fixed. The main thing you want is for caster to be the same side to side. I usually run 4* caster, but you can go more or less. In your situation I don't know how much these will adjust your caster, but the ball joint doesn't have to move much to make a correct adjustment.

A bad upper ball joint can definately cause problems. They're easy to check and should be replaced first before getting an alignment. To check your upper ball joint it's best to lift the front wheel off the ground, support the car with jack stands of course, and then grab the wheel at the top and bottom and try to wiggle it. The wheel shouldn't move. If you feel it moving like a clunk back and forth, then look at your suspension while you or a friend moves the wheel. It'll either be the upper or lower ball joint, well most likely.

Good luck man. Hope this helps.

 

you can shim the radius rods with washers to adjust caster.
good luck.

 

^^^
That's true only if you need to make your caster more negative, in his case that would not work. The reason is if you put a shim between the front of the radius rod and the crossmember bushing (behind the cross member, not on the side with the nut) then that pushes the lower control arm and lower ball joint farther back making the caster angle negative. He's looking for the 2-4* positive range and he's far from that. Get the ingalls kit, you'll be happy.